After three days on the lam near his home at a petting zoo in Wisconsin, Chesney the kangaroo returned home last Saturday.
On March 25, the 16-month-old kangaroo was spooked by some stray dogs, causing him to scale the 8-foot fence around his enclosure. Chesney’s escape from Sunshine Farm in Necedah, Wisconsin, caused his keeper, Debbie Marland, and a group of her friends to spend three days searching for the kangaroo.
The search party chased reports of sightings and used rented heat-seeking drones in order to find the animal.
“I was putting on about 37,000 steps per day looking for him,” Marland said, according to The Associated Press. “I haven’t done so much exercise in a very long time.”
Marland has two kangaroos, Chesney and Kenny, named after country-music star Kenny Chesney. The pair are among 25 animals at Sunshine Farm, which also houses Kunekune pigs, Highland cows, horses, sheep, alpacas and a Bactrian camel.
Chesney made his escape last Wednesday around 11:15 a.m. He stayed within a 3-mile radius of his home but continued to evade those searching for him.
How was Chesney the kangaroo found?
Colton Johnson, owner of Midwest Aerial Drone Services, used heat-sensing drones to help track down Chesney. He said that the kangaroo’s heat signature on the drone footage was unique.
“It almost looked like a dinosaur running through the woods,” Johnson said, per the AP. “It’s got a long tail, and the way it was moving and hopping, that’s the only way that I can describe it.”
Searchers got near Chesney on Friday night but he evaded them once again. On Saturday, Marland decided to return to where they had seen him the night before; they arrived with his favorite treats and pieces of material that had his and Kenny’s scent.
At first, there was no sign of the kangaroo, but just as they were about to pack up, they saw Chesney approaching.
“He had a very calm attitude when he walked up, obviously you could tell he wasn’t in fight-or-flight mode, so I just went with that,” Marland’s friend Stacy Brereton said, per the AP. “I just stayed calm with him and I just kind of went and sat and let him come to me.”
Chesney was hungry and tired when they found him but otherwise he is healthy. Now that Chesney is back home, Marland shared that a mesh top will be added to his enclosure to prevent another escape.
“He looks extremely healthy,” Marland said, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. “Clean, no cuts, no scrapes, no nothing. Has a good appetite. Going to the bathroom.”
Marland lives in her home with the two kangaroos and five English Labradors who have “free run of the house.”
She shared that the community came together for Chesney when he went missing. A children’s book about Chesney’s adventures was written by a fan of Sunshine Farm and Marland hopes to publish the book.